Charles Stephens is originally from Forrest City, Arkansas. He graduated from University of Central Arkansas and from Tulane University Law School. He and his wife, Nona moved to Gainesville Georgia upon Charles's graduation from law school where their two sons were born. Charles recently retired from the practice of law after a distinguished forty year career, being a widely known and highly regarded trial lawyer. He is now able to devote his attention to his long standing creative talents which first bloomed many years ago with a “movable” dark room in the bathroom of his tiny apartment while in law school.

His photographic skills spread into the courtroom in being able to come home for lunch, develop a photo, and return to court with a photo that established a witness was not correct (One Hour Photo did not exist in those days!) His skill soon obliterated the “hobby” when law partners and other lawyers in town prevailed upon him to help in a last minute pinch with photos for their trials. Woodworking and antique tool collecting seemed like a safe haven to nurture his creative side without them becoming “work”, so photography largely remained a forensic interest.

But his talent did not just begin as an adult. His wife’s mother discovered a carefully saved newspaper article in the old cedar chest of when her daughter won the girl’s division of a coloring contest for a local department store when she was six years old. But what shocked her in rereading the article after all those years was the eight year old winner of the boy’s division was now her son-in-law! They did not meet until many years later. Perhaps we never get too far away from our desire to be creative. With his retirement the conversations over the dinner table now have turned to light, tones, textures, composition, or design with Nona who was his “ high school sweetheart” since the early 1960’s. Charles now pursues his creative interests in fine art photography with the same passion for excellence which he brought to the courtroom in the practice of law.